Rory Mitchell

@rorymitchellf1

F1 Journalist. f1debrief.substack.com. Bylines with Sector.World, F1Oversteer, RacingNews365, Autosport, Motorsport News, ZAG Daily. Formerly PR @ Patterrn. University of Sheffield graduate.

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Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· 19d

A rather striking new Safety Car will be used from this weekend's #HungarianGP. The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ is the first Safety Car equipped with variable all-wheel drive, with a biturbo 4.0-litre V8 capable of producing 612bhp. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· 20d

The FIA has confirmed the locations of the Straight Mode and Overtake zones for the #HungarianGP: SM A1 - 40m after Turn 14 A2 - 30m before Turn 1A-entry A3 - 50m after Turn 5 A4 - 60m after Turn 11 Overtake Detection - Entry of Turn 14 Activation - 30m before Turn 14-exit

Straight Mode
A1 - 40m after Turn 14 (Wet: 100m after Turn 14)
A2 - 30m before Turn 1A-entry (Wet: 100m after T1A-entry)
A3 - 50m after Turn 5 (Wet: 80m after T3)
A4 - 60m after Turn 11 (Wet: 90m after T11)

Overtake
Detection - Entry of Turn 14
Activation - 30m before Turn 14-exit

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· 21d

It's probably the closest I'll get to driving a real F1 car (unless somebody wants to fork out €20,000 for a day at Paul Ricard). These are serious bits of kit. I drove a Ferrari F2004 at Barcelona, and you feel every snap of oversteer, bump in the tarmac, and undulation in the track. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· 23d

Not #F1 related, but F2 driver Noel Leon has been disqualified from today's Sprint Race, fined €20,000, and Campos docked 25 points because a guest of his was wearing the wrong type of headset (one with a mic instead of a listen-only). This exchange in the stewards' report tickled me. #BelgianGP

The Stewards noted that the team guest had been approached by a Scrutineer and
informed that the headset was not permitted as it was fitted with a microphone. The
Scrutineer was advised in response that the microphone was folded upwards.
Despite having been specifically advised that the headset was not permitted, the team
guest subsequently put the headset back on and continued to use it.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· 23d

All the possible strategies for the #BelgianGP. Pirelli expect a one-stop to be the favourite, especially as most of the top 10 have two new sets of hard tyres available. Although a two-stop is also a possibility. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· 27d

The FIA has confirmed the locations of the Straight Mode and Overtake zones for the #BelgianGP: SM A1 - 190m after Turn 19 A2 - 140m before Turn 1 A3 - 60m after Turn 4 A4 - 140m after Turn 15 A5 - 80m after Turn 17 Overtake Detection - Entry of Turn 19 Activation - 130m after Turn 19 #F1

Map of Spa Francorchamps showing corners, straight mode and overtake zones for the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 9

Shots of the Ferrari on track at the Madring, both Hamilton and Leclerc drove the track. The banking on the second picture is quite steep, will be one of the challenges. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 9

Ferrari is out doing a filming day at the Madring today, becoming the first team to drive the new track that will make it's race debut in September. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 5

All the possible combinations for a one-stop strategy in today's #BritishGP. Red Bull drivers have two new sets of mediums they could use if they wanted. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 4

Christian Horner announces his memoir entitled 'Drive' will be out in October this year. #F1 #BritishGP

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 3

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 2

A look at the RBrick22. They are made out of 28,000 LEGO bricks, weigh 280kg, and can reach 25kph. #F1 #BritishGP

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 2

Remember the LEGO carnage during the drivers' parade at Miami last year? It's making a comeback at Silverstone. Looks like it will be LEGO go karts. What could possibly go wrong? #F1 #BritishGP

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 2

The FIA has confirmed the locations of the Straight Mode and Overtake zones for the #BritishGP: SM A1 - 65m after Turn 18 A2 - 55m before Turn 5 A3 - 155m after Turn 7 A4 - 65m after Turn 14 Overtake Detection - Exit of Turn 17 Activation - 95m after Turn 17 #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 1

Cadillac and Haas should strap speakers to their cars and blast this for the entire #BritishGP weekend. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jul 1

Cadillac will run a special 4th of July and America's 250th birthday livery for the #BritishGP #F1

A special 4th of July and America's 250th birthday livery for Cadillac, featuring full-color red, white and blue.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 30

A special Silverstone livery for McLaren. Looks a bit like the old 'West' liveries from the 90s. #F1

McLaren MCL40 with a special livery for Silverstone, featuring no 'Papaya Orange' and all silver and black highlights.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 28

Lawson will be investigated after the race for failing to follow the race director's instructions on practice starts. It's an odd uphill pit lane at the Red Bull Ring, so they're only allowed to do them once they've rounded the first corner. #F1 #AustrianGP

6 Practice starts during the reconnaissance laps:
Cars wishing to perform a practice start should leave the pit lane using the Pit Exit Road and
must NOT cross the white line separating the Pit Exit Road from the circuit. They may stop in the
area immediately prior to Safety Car Line 2, and perform a practice start. All such cars MUST
then join the circuit from the Pit Exit Road.
Cars NOT wishing to perform a practice start should leave the pit lane and MUST cross the white
lines separating the Pit Exit Road from the track at the earliest opportunity and join the “normal”
racing line. All such cars MUST NOT cross back into the Pit Exit Road.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 28

All the possible race strategies for the #AustrianGP. Verstappen takes an extra set of medium tyres into the race, so that will likely influence his strategy option. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 28

A few things replaced on Verstappen's car after his Qualifying crash yesterday. #F1 #AustrianGP

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 27

To explain what the marshals have trackside: it's a control system used for each flag that activates the light panels. The marshal in charge of T9 pressed the single yellow button as Verstappen had his accident. It took Race Control 15 seconds to override and turn to double yellows. #F1 #AustrianGP

Photo Credit: EM Motorsport (https://www.instagram.com/p/DAYSv8rsZb3/)

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 27

Track map data shows the sequence of events: Verstappen crashes, yellow flag, Antonelli and Russell pass, double yellow flag. Antonelli backed out because he thought it was a double-yellow on his dashboard, and missed out on a shot at pole. #F1 #AustrianGP

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 25

This was outlined in the Gasly hearing. The wheel rotation data used in the telemetry can be affected by factors such as tyre wear, pressures, and a degree of slip that generates force, so it's actually less accurate than the external system.

In relation to Alpine’s references, in its submission, to vCar and vSaS, Tim Malyon submitted the following:

a. vCar is derived from wheel speeds. It is acknowledged that some elements of this calculation are FIA defined parameters but, as any tyre needs to be slipping to generate force, wheel speed is inherently not equal to car speed, certainly not to the level of accuracy needed for Pit
Lane Speed Measurement. This is why it is widely understood that an off-car system for measurement of pit lane speed is required.

b. vSaS is a team sensor, FIA had no knowledge of the calibration or accuracy of this sensor so could not comment but, in light of this, suggested that this means it cannot be used in this instance as reference measure of car speed.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 24

The FIA has confirmed the locations of the Straight Mode and Overtake zones for the #AustrianGP: SM A1 - 110m after Turn 10 A2 - 110m before Turn 1 A3 - 90m after Turn 3 A4 - 10m after Turn 8 Overtake Detection - 50m before Turn 10 Activation - 110m after Turn 10 #F1

SM
A1 - 110m after Turn 10 (160m after T10 in wet)
A2 - 110m before Turn 1 (170m after T1 in wet)
A3 - 90m after Turn 3 (160m after T3 in wet)
A4 - 10m after Turn 8 (60m after T8 in wet)

Overtake
Detection - 50m before Turn 10
Activation - 110m after Turn 10

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 19

Statement from Mercedes after withdrawing it's right to review. Says they were happy that the FIA are going to "proactively address" the "unique circumstances" that caused the whole saga. #F1

Ne can confirm that we have withdrawn our Riaht of Review submission relating to the penalties received anc served by George Russell durina the Monaco Grand Prix.

Following the decision to rescind Pierre Gasly's time penalty it was important for us to explore all available options to address the impact of George's pitlane speeding penaltv on his race result.

We had a limited time window in which to applv for the Right of Review during the race weekend in Barcelona and did so in order to reserve our position in this regard.

Our subseauent collaborative discussion with FIA and Formula One has shown their determination to review the unique circumstances arising from the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that caused them.

In the face of this clear determination, we have concluded that further pursuit of our Right of Review application will not serve our team or the sport and thus we have withdrawn our submission.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 16

McLaren has confirmed it has "formally lodged a notification of appeal with the FIA International Court of Appeal" over the decision to rescind Gasly's third place in the Monaco GP. Full statement below: #F1

"McLaren Racing can confirm that it has formally lodged a notification of appeal with the FIA International Court of Appeal regarding the following decisions related to the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix: Stewards Document 99; Revised Final Race Classification Document 100; Revised Championship Points Document 101.

"While we fully respect the FIA’s judicial processes and the role of the Stewards, we believe this case raises important questions concerning sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competition.

"Throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend - and in every event - all teams operated according to the regulations and established standard practices for what concerns the speed limit in the pit lane as they were applied at the time. Competitors adjusted their procedures accordingly and, where required, accepted and served penalties imposed under those regulations.

"In our view, the subsequent removal of penalties creates a situation in which some competitors are disadvantaged by having acted in accordance with the rules and the Stewards’ decisions. Such an outcome risks creating sporting inequity and undermining confidence in the consistent application of the FIA Sporting Regulations.

"Our decision to appeal is not directed at any competitor. Rather, it reflects our belief that the championship benefits from regulations that are applied consistently, transparently and fairly to all participants.

“McLaren remains committed to working constructively with the FIA, Formula One and fellow competitors to protect the integrity of the sport and maintain confidence in its regulatory framework."

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 15

It is good to see F1 with front-page headlines in the newspapers. Hamilton's Ferrari win also bumped Le Mans as the main spread in L'équipe. Star power. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 14

All of the possible strategies for the #BarcelonaGP. Looks like the two-stop will be the favourite in the hot conditions, with an average time lost in the pit lane of around 22s. #F1

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 11

FIA confirms 7MJ recharge limit in qualifying for the #SpanishGP. Expected to be one of the heaviest tracks for lift/coast and superclipping. Also back to standard ERS mode, so it begins to taper off at 290kph instead of 200kph in Monaco. #F1

Power unit information provided by the FIA for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. Max recharge per-lap is 7MJ in qualifying, with it rising to 9MJ in practice and the race.

MGU-K deployment is also back to standard mode and will see energy taper off at 290kph, after Monaco took advantage of the 'Rev 1' mode to cap maximum speeds to 200kph.

Rory Mitchell@rorymitchellf1· Jun 11

The FIA has confirmed the locations of the Straight Mode and Overtake zones for the #SpanishGP: SM A1 - 45m after Turn 14 A2 - 40m before Turn 3 exit A3 - 90m after Turn 5 A4 - 40m after Turn 9 Overtake Detection - Turn 13 apex Activation - Turn 14 entry #F1